Dim Sum King — Restaurant in Seattle

I had a terrible experience here yesterday. I placed an order for two porridges and four rice cakes before the restaurant opened at 7 AM and paid in full through HungryPanda. When I arrived, they told me they had sold one of my porridges to someone else, even though my order was already confirmed and paid for. Their excuse was that “HungryPanda customer service allowed them to do that” which is not true after I spoke with HungryPanda for confirmation. This is not the right way to conduct business. If a business takes an order and payment, they should honor it — not give part of it to another customer. Very unprofessional operation! Think twice before ordering from this place.

My response to Dim Sum King: Hi Dim Sum King team, I appreciate the follow-up, but a few important facts in your public reply need correcting so readers get the full picture.

• Pickup time vs. arrival time * My scheduled pickup was 9:40 AM and I arrived at around 3:00 PM—not 4:00 PM. That’s roughly five hours later, not seven. I order takeout a lot (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, etc.) and I’ve never had a restaurant sell part of a paid order to someone else just because pickup was later the same day. Food safety matters, but so does getting the timeline right.
• Food safety is being used to explain the wrong thing * Your reply cites a “discard after 4 hours” rule for meat items. If that were truly the reason, then none of my congee should have been handed out later. What actually happened: I ordered two congees and four rice cakes; when I arrived, one congee was missing because it had been sold to another customer. If the issue was food safety timing, keeping one congee for me while saying the other couldn’t be kept doesn’t add up. The rule is being used as a cover for selling part of a fully paid order to someone else.
• Customer discretion after payment * Once food is paid for and ready for pickup, it’s typically the customer’s call what to do with it, especially if you believe time has passed and there might be quality or safety concerns. You can (and should) warn the customer and let them decide, or discard and refund if you truly think it must be tossed. What doesn’t make sense is unilaterally giving away part of a paid order to another customer while holding the rest for me. That’s not food safety—that’s reassignment of purchased items.
• What your staff told me vs. what HungryPanda confirmed * At pickup, when I asked why one congee from my paid order was given away, staff did not cite food safety. I was told HungryPanda said it was fine because they couldn’t reach me. I called HungryPanda right after (agent #105156). They confirmed the platform did not authorize giving my paid item to someone else. Per their policy, if a restaurant makes that call without the customer’s consent, the restaurant bears the risk and consequences. So the “HungryPanda told us to do it” explanation isn’t true.
• What’s missing: an apology and ownership * Mistakes happen. What’s disappointing is there’s still no apology for selling part of a paid order to someone else and then posting a public explanation that doesn’t match what was said to me or what HungryPanda confirmed. A simple “we’re sorry, we shouldn’t have sold part of a paid order……here’s how we’ll prevent it” would’ve gone a long way.

To be clear: I paid for two congees and received one because the other was sold to someone else. I’d appreciate a correction to your public response and a written apology (if...

Family business that has been operating for a while to support the community. They've encountered some obstacles along the way such as having a car run into their building, which is why it's boarded up and looks a bit interesting, but they continue to operate nonetheless. I used to order frequently before COVID and had a fantastic experience during the Chinatown Food Walk.

As many reviews note already, this is a la carte dim sum where you can order as little or as many pieces as you'd like. It's not high quality dim sum, but the value is insane, it's cheap, flexible, and accessible. There are tons of amazing dim sum places in Chinatown, but a la carte is a very unique experience with a lot of potential to benefit the community.

I cannot stop raving about the a la carte. It doesn't affect me that much, but I see the benefits and accessibility. People can try new things without much risk which is awesome, but there's a bigger impact. Those who are struggling may pop in and order a nice bao or bun to ease their appetite. Donations to those struggling are actually usable here because the prices allow for change to be utilized effectively. It's because of this that I believe Dim Sum King deserves so much support as it helps the community, regardless of our situations. Craving dim sum? Satiates that craving. Wanting to try new things? Can do that without much food waste. Don't have much money? Can still order.

The congee here is very popular and often sells out fast, so I'd recommend that alongside your order. Every dim sum item is close to what you'd expect at other restaurants, but maybe half a star less? They do make in bulk and probably speed up the process, but that half star doesn't...

Dim Sum King is absolutely the king of the dim sum jungle. I would recommend stopping by if you live in Seattle or are visiting the ID.

The shrimp siu mai were good and not too fishy, the shrimp dumplings were also good, and the egg tart was very good.

I read complaints that the egg tart had too much crust, but I disagree. The crust was well executed and flakey. The custard was perfect, not too sweet, and warm.

The real star of the show is the prices. Finally somewhere I can afford to eat in this godforsaken town. I am a student, I can barely afford a latte at this rate. Dim Sum King is affordable and not only that, but delicious.

The service wasn’t great but who cares, the food is cheap and good. You fill out a paper form and hand it to the person behind the counter. It wasn’t too busy, I went Saturday at lunch.

I honestly enjoyed the aesthetic of the place, takes me back to my childhood. Something wholesome and untouched by the techno finance Amazon hustle and bustle that’s taking over my dear old city. Actually I’m from Pittsburgh so Seattle is hardly my dear old city. Honestly I can’t wait to move out of this place.

However, when I do move, I will miss Dim Sum King...